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A review by machadofam8
I Couldn't Love You More by Esther Freud
4.0
I Couldn’t Love You More by Esther Freud is a wonderful, lush, moving book. It was a little hard to follow at first, but once I got into the rhythm it was hard to put it down. It tells the story of Aoife, her daughter Rosaleen and her daughter Kate. Aoife lives on a farm in Ireland with her husband Cash after having been the managers of a pub in London.
Their daughter, Rosaleen goes off and is seduced by and falls in love with an artist, Felix, who gets her pregnant and after a stroke, abandons her. Her fuller body is his muse and he sculpts her likeness for an upcoming gallery show. When he has a stroke, Rosaleen goes to the hospital and finds out that not only is he married but he has a son.
With nowhere else to turn, Rosaleen goes to a convent where she will give birth and her baby be given up for adoption. This is a struggle as obviously sex and pregnancy outside of marriage is a sin so the nuns are not kind to the young women who have come there in their desperation. Rosaleen hopes to leave with her child but when she gives birth the child is adopted 10 days later. She names her child Isabelle Felicia after her own grandmother and Felix. Rosaleen writes to her father and he sends money so she can leave the convent but she knows she can never see her parents again.
We meet Kate, Rosaleen’s daughter. She lives in London and has a young daughter of her own. She works with people with disabilities doing art projects; clearly the talent of her father has been passed down. Her husband Matt is an alcoholic and Kate decides to search for her birth mother. The rest of the story is the outcome.
I felt that it has a slow buildup but was really good overall. It was a little tough getting to know the different characters. I think the beginning had years associated with the different chapters and that would have helped further along in the book.
I received this ARC from #Netgalley in return for an honest review.
Their daughter, Rosaleen goes off and is seduced by and falls in love with an artist, Felix, who gets her pregnant and after a stroke, abandons her. Her fuller body is his muse and he sculpts her likeness for an upcoming gallery show. When he has a stroke, Rosaleen goes to the hospital and finds out that not only is he married but he has a son.
With nowhere else to turn, Rosaleen goes to a convent where she will give birth and her baby be given up for adoption. This is a struggle as obviously sex and pregnancy outside of marriage is a sin so the nuns are not kind to the young women who have come there in their desperation. Rosaleen hopes to leave with her child but when she gives birth the child is adopted 10 days later. She names her child Isabelle Felicia after her own grandmother and Felix. Rosaleen writes to her father and he sends money so she can leave the convent but she knows she can never see her parents again.
We meet Kate, Rosaleen’s daughter. She lives in London and has a young daughter of her own. She works with people with disabilities doing art projects; clearly the talent of her father has been passed down. Her husband Matt is an alcoholic and Kate decides to search for her birth mother. The rest of the story is the outcome.
I felt that it has a slow buildup but was really good overall. It was a little tough getting to know the different characters. I think the beginning had years associated with the different chapters and that would have helped further along in the book.
I received this ARC from #Netgalley in return for an honest review.